YOU DON?T NEED TO hop out of town to feel summer. Just have the main ingredients?cool people and fun activities. Check out these get-together ideas for a summer blast.
Ice cream party
For a totally refreshing afternoon, invite your friends and require each one to bring a half-gallon tub of ice cream and one kind of sprinkles. Have ice cream flavor and sprinkles assignments so you don?t end up having a strictly ube-ice-cream-with-marshmallows party. Prepare several cups because you might want to pair each ice cream flavor with a type of sprinkles. Experiment pairing ice cream flavors (vanilla and ube, chocolate and pistachio), or mixing sprinkles (cornflakes and raisins, grated cheese and marshmallows). Why not go all out? Try concocting banana splits and floats, or cupcakes and crepes.
Ice skate get-together
The mall?such air-conditioned heaven?is a nice place to hang out in. Its ice skating rink is an even better place. Bring the group to a skating rink and have fun counting how many times you or your friends slip or fall. It?s even more fun if the group has never tried the sport (more people falling flat on their butt!). Assign someone to take videos or pictures so you can all have a laugh looking at them later.
Water balloon fun
Go back to your carefree childhood days and have fun with water balloons. Gather in someone?s house one hot afternoon and prepare your water balloons. Head to the park (don?t forget to bring towels) and get ready to get wet. There are many ways to enjoy your water bombs. Play water balloon tag, where the ?it? tries to throw a water balloon at anyone and the person who gets wet becomes the next ?it.? If you?re just two, you can slather some baby oil on your hands and play catch-throw, and see who gets wetter. Divide the gang into two teams, have a water balloon war, and see which team is left dry.
Slumber party
Have the whole gang over for a sleepover, but make sure you get enough shut-eye beforehand so you can make the most out of your get-together. Who sleeps during sleepovers anyway? For dinner, barbecue pork, chicken, fish and vegetables. Throw in coleslaw, salads, popsicles and pitchers of iced tea, and you?re ready for a sleepless evening. Apart from the usual slumber party activities (card games, truth or consequence, putting on homemade face masks), bring out old class pictures, search for your childhood sweethearts on Facebook (and show everyone, of course), or make and compare fun lists (five celebs I?d date if I were gay, 10 people I want to be with inside Big Brother?s house, six food items I can live on for the rest of my life).
?Halo-halo salu-salo?
Why buy halo-halo when you can make your own, right? Meet up friends and let everyone bring a particular halo-halo ingredient. More than one person should bring ice and milk though. Unleash your creative side in the kitchen and have a contest: make the best halo-halo using only five ingredients (apart from milk, ice and sugar, of course). Let everyone taste each other?s creations and vote for the best. Not everyone may win, but no one ends up hungry after the contest, that?s for sure.
Outdoor movie marathon
Cold summer nights are perfect for watching movies outdoors with your buds and summer romantic partners. Bring out the popcorn, iced tea, blankets, hammocks and projector, and enjoy a movie night. Who says you must watch summer-theme flicks? Pop in some Christmas movies for an interesting time. Have a horror movie marathon (the more low-tech or unintentionally funny, the better). Finish the latest season of your favorite show (some people think ?90210? is so much better than ?Gossip Girl,? but nothing beats ?The Hills?), or a classic series like ?Beverly Hills 90210? or ?California Dreams.? If you really want to watch something summer-related, hunt for ?Temptation Island,? and have the best summer ever.
What are you doing with your friends this summer? E-mail ninomarksablan@yahoo.com.
